Manteca varsity girls basketball coach Andrea Hiatt chats up some of her players after a tournament game in Tracy.

JASON CAMPBELL/The Bulletin

When it comes to staying fit Andrea Hiatt thinks that living an active lifestyle is the key ingredient.

And that doesn’t necessarily have to include gym memberships, organized diets or lofty New Years goals that many people burn out in after several months.

As a physical education teacher and varsity girls basketball coach at Manteca High, Hiatt’s day-to-day routine centers around getting young people active and promoting the benefits that healthy lifestyles afford those who dedicate themselves to them.

It can be as simple as a pick-up game in the park, she said, or a long evening walk with escalating goals in mind.

“I think the biggest thing is just being active and finding something that you enjoy doing. That doesn’t mean that you have to go to the gym – it can be as easy as picking up a basketball or finding something else you can do with friends,” Hiatt said. “The other big part of it is what you eat. Just like living an active life, you need to make changes in what you put into your body – it doesn’t have to be a crazy diet or anything like that.

“You need to find something that you can make a part of your life.”

Most of what people should focus on, she said, is common sense.

With active on-the-go lifestyles prevalent in modern society, Hiatt says that she knows that a lot of people eat fast food because it’s convenient and it’s easy. While completely cutting it out altogether would be best, just making smarter decisions with what you order can be a step in the right direction.

Even on the days where working out or eating a salad isn’t high on her list of things to do – and she admits that she has those days where she wants a cheeseburger and wants to relax – just incorporating the subtle changes over time will make the health-conscious choices second nature and the effects will start to be evident.

Not everybody, she said, is able to do what she does when she practices with her team.

“There’s just so much garbage out there that people put into their bodies when even fast food restaurants are offering healthier options now,” she said. “It’s one of those things where you get out of it what you put into it. When you start making those changes, it’s going to become easier.

“And find something fun you can do that’s active – that’s the most important part. I still like to lace ‘em up and practice with my girls, and I’m not as quick as I was when I played. But it’s fun and I enjoy doing it.”